Welcome to JRichardGentry.com

J. Richard Gentry, Ph.D., is an internationally acclaimed author, educational consultant, and researcher and a recognized leader in education for groundbreaking work in spelling and for recent work with Pre-K through second grade emergent literacy. His breakthrough insights on the early connections of reading, writing, and spelling—along with clarification of early developmental stages of spelling, word reading, and writing—are unraveling the mysteries of how teachers should teach, how children learn to read and write, and how to handle complex issues such as teaching phonics, spelling disabilities, overcoming dyslexia, along with the specific specifics of early intervention for children who are breaking the code.

His own personal struggles as a dyslexic who learned to read and his life-long battle with spelling disability paved the way for unexpected findings in educational theory and research as he combined cutting-edge, brain-based research with sound classroom knowledge for teaching literacy.

This site will help teachers and parents gain access to Dr. Gentry's work whose mission is to promote new understanding of the importance of spelling, to clarify early intervention for reading problems, and to promote understanding of how children break the complex English written code. If you are a teacher or parent, you will find a variety of helpful resources for guiding children who are beginning to read and write or who are struggling. Parents and teachers of pre-k and kindergarten will find a delightful nursery rhyme set of reading and writing materials.

In addition to purchasing Gentry's titles such as Breaking the Code, and The Science of Spelling, or learning more about his spelling program, Spelling Connections (K-8) by Zaner-Bloser Publishers, the site makes it easy to contact Dr. Gentry for workshops and consulting services. Free educational features on the site include selected book chapters, journal articles, and newsprint media features as well as some of Dr. Gentry's favorite links such as an online spelling checker for all of you struggling spellers who can't find the misspelled words, and a marvelous word finder for kids who like to unscramble words, play Scrabble®, or solve cross-word puzzles.